Bob Newhart Won Twitter During the College Football Championship’s First Half

Most brands turn in a real-time snoozer

Despite the predictions that tonight's college football championship on ESPN would be the highest-rated cable program of all time, there has been little real-time marketing by brands during the first half of the game. Have there been pre-planned tweets pushed in an obvious fashion? Yes. But there have only been a few good on-the-fly examples to speak of so far.

So thank goodness for Bob Newhart, the 85-year-old legendary comedian. For most of the game tonight, "Bob Newhart" has trended nationally on Twitter because the game's lead referee, Greg Burks, resembles the comic just enough for TV viewers to have fun with the coincidence in their social streams. For instance, Good Morning America got into the game.